amazing tunes in black and white

My recent late night obsession has been to camp up til the wee hours of the night searching for black and white videos of The Beatles performing their MANY wonderful songs.

Honestly, I've never been that obsessed with The Beatles. I mean, I've obviously known about them, because HEY, they are the BEATLES! They're the greatest band ever to have walked on the surface of this planet, and their music, be it the incredibly catchy "mop-top" tunes of their early days or the amazingly eclectic bizarre psychedelic signatures that are to characterize their later works, is just phenomenally good. Everyone grew up listening to a few songs that would haven been composed by the Beatles. Even in the 21st century, their music is still incredibly addictive.

The start of my latest obsessive behavior occurred when I was shopping for CDs at HMV last week. I happened to notice that there was a whole shelf dedicated to the Beatles. Apparently their albums have just been re-mastered and re-released to a whole new generation of music lovers. I was sorely tempted to buy all their albums at one shot - but to do so meant that I would have to part with over 200 dollars just to have the whole damn collection. I wasn't willing to spend that much money at one go, so I left without even purchasing a single Beatles album.

But I wasn't ready to let it be! That very night, I went home and logged onto the internet, and found thousands of videos on Youtube concerning the Beatles. I randomly clicked on the link to what looked like the oldest, most antiquated video that I could find. It turned out to be a video of them performing 'Twist And Shout'. That was followed by another video of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', and then one of 'Eleanor Rigby' and before I knew it, I was on the path to obsession. So for the past few nights, I've been watching videos of the Fab Four performing countless songs. Heck, I've even started watching the 9-episode Beatles Anthology documentary series on Youtube. So much for starting work on Pathology!

That said, I must say that its quite understandable why the Beatles became the legend that they were. I think it goes beyond their singing or their musical talents. Its because the four of them had charisma and character. The thing that struck me most while watching the videos of them perform (and some occasional videos of them doing absolutely nonsensical stuff) was that they were quite hilarious and amusing to watch! They had an infectious quality to them, especially when they were younger. Here's a video of them performing one of their greatest hits, "I Want to Hold Your Hand":



Paul McCartney especially, looked liked some hyperactive, highly enthusiastic schoolboy kid who can't wait to scream into his microphone! They looked so different when they were young! So fresh! So adorably exuberant! John Lennon looked so dapper before he started wearing those trademark spectacles and letting his hair grow long. Ringo Starr looked liked some hilariously dopey person who just can't wait to hit his drum. George Harrison's my favourite Beatle: he reminds me of a goody two shoes kind of boy who desperately wants to do something naughty! Haha

I wished I were around when they actually were starting out though! Its one thing to watch old black and white videos of them, but I think it would have been so much cooler to really see them in the flesh when they were truly at the zenith of their careers!

当我们同在一起

I think this drama is a hundred times better than "Little Nonya". Its a pity it doesn't seem to be getting as much of a hype as the former though.

I like the way it has given us a glimpse into the life of teenagers living through the 60s. Its like a really good representation of our parents' own lives, how they grew up and stuff. I asked my mum if she actually encountered some of the problems and stuff mentioned in the drama, and she was like "Oh my god, they really put that in? I used to do that/see that/play that all the time!" Its amazing really. Though we are a relatively young nation, Singapore does have an amazingly rich pool of culture and history that we can tap into, and I think we really should create more shows and stories on life then - all the other kind of contemporary dramas that Mediacorp produces are honestly quite ridiculous, far fetched and stupid (for example, the current drama airing at the 7 O'clock time slot).

Oh and unlike "The Little Nonya", "Together" is actually rather light-hearted! Its seriously damn funny! Its comedic, but at the same time, it never fails to have a heart. If there's one thing I hated about "The Little Nonya", its the way it progressed into such an over-the-top tragic melodrama. "Together" managed to steer away from being too tragic, and manages to have this right balance of light-hearted downright hilarious scenes that managed to capture the simplicity of life in the 1960s, with dramatic scenes that explore the emotional turmoils of life then. I never knew that all those young actors and actresses from Mediacorp actually could pull off comedy with such a comic timing! Quite impressive I must say.

In general, I think I'm drawn more towards period dramas. I like watching shows about people living in a different time. I think I've grown so tired of living in today's modern world that I kind of look forward to a form of escapism away from the hustle and bustle of modernity. Life in the 60s looks so inviting, I hope to throw away everything and just go back to the days of playing Goh-Li, Chap Jee Kee and Tikam. Haha